Barcelona Metro Line 8
FGC’s metre-gauge line between Espanya and Molí Nou – Ciutat Cooperativa, via L’Hospitalet, Cornellà and Sant Boi.
About Line 8
Line 8 is an FGC line (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), not a TMB one. It carries a metro number on the integrated network map and you pay with the same ATM zone 1 tickets.
L8 is run by FGC and is part of its Llobregat-Noya line. It links Espanya with Molí Nou – Ciutat Cooperativa in 11 stations; 73 % of the route is underground and the rest at street level, all of it double track. It is metre gauge, 1,000 mm, which earned it the nickname «carrilet» (little railway). The full journey takes 21 minutes.
At Espanya you can change to L1 and L3, and at Europa | FiraES to L9 Sud. From Ildefons CerdàES a walkway leads to Ciutat de la Justícia (L10 Sud), and from L’Hospitalet Av. CarriletES another leads to Av. CarriletES (L1). According to FGC, all its stations are accessible to people with reduced mobility.
Stations on Line 8
11 stations, 4 of them with an interchange to another line (marked with a ring and the colours of the other lines).
Espanya – Molí Nou - Ciutat Cooperativa
11 stations · run by FGC
Timetable and frequency of Line 8
| Line | Mon–Thu | Fri & eve of holidays | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L8 | 05:00 – 00:19 | 05:00 – 02:23 | 05:36 – 02:23 | 05:36 – 00:19 |
Earliest first departure and latest last departure at any station on the line, for a week without public holidays; on FGC every train that stops is counted (S and R trains too). Each station page has its own times by direction.
| Line | Interval Monday–Thursday, 08:00 | Sunday, 12:00 | Measured at |
|---|---|---|---|
| L8 | 4.1 min | 10 min | Sant Josep |
Average interval worked out from the trains per hour and direction that the operator schedules at that station.
History
The Llobregat-Noya line was built to carry freight, above all minerals from the salt basin of Súria and Cardona and textiles from the Llobregat and Noya valleys. By 1883 it already linked Igualada and Martorell, and in 1912 the Caminos de Hierro del Nordeste de España, a company founded in Brussels in 1907, opened the section between Magòria and Martorell, which part of today’s L8 still uses. In 1919 operation passed to the Compañía General de los Ferrocarriles Catalanes.
After the provisional transfer to FEVE in 1977 and to the Generalitat in 1978, FGC was created in 1979. From 1978 the line was modernised, which included putting the section between L’Hospitalet and Cornellà underground. In the nineties the Metro del Baix Llobregat was born, with more frequent trains and the name S3 in pink; in 2003 it took a metro number as L8. In 2007 the doubling of the track between Barcelona and Martorell was completed; until then trains ran every seven and a half minutes, and every ten off-peak.
How the service runs
L8 is run by FGC and has no all-night service on Saturday; on Fridays and Saturdays the last train runs at around 2:20. Other Llobregat-Noya services also use its tracks, and those carrying the L8 name are only a small share: at Sant Josep, between 2 and 5 an hour. Counting every FGC train that stops at Sant Josep, from Monday to Friday there are 13 or 14 an hour in each direction at peak times, one every 4 or 5 minutes, and between 7 and 10 around midday. On Saturdays and Sundays there are between 6 and 8 an hour.
The trains
The line uses 213 series trains, which carry 450 passengers and have a top speed of 90 km/h. They usually run as three-car sets, and the middle car has a low-floor section with doors accessible to people with reduced mobility. The third and final batch of the 213 series arrived in 2009, replacing the 211 series trains.
Frequently asked questions
Because of its narrow gauge. L8 is metre gauge, 1,000 mm, narrower than the standard gauge of FGC’s Barcelona-Vallès line, used by L6, L7 and L12.
At Espanya they share a station. In L’Hospitalet, the L8 station L’Hospitalet Av. Carrilet is linked by a walkway to Av. Carrilet on L1: they are two separate stations connected on foot.
Since 2003, when FGC’s urban lines were given metro numbers. Before that it was the S3 of the Metro del Baix Llobregat, and until fares were integrated in 2001 FGC’s urban lines were not considered part of the metro.